Ripples in an Impossible Sea
by regenengel3
Summary: A single pebble makes hundreds of tiny waves and a butterfly's wings can start a hurricane. What would three brothers on an endless sea of impossible adventure do, if given the chance? A collection of What Ifs dedicated to getting the ASL bros back together because I love them dagnabit!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

 **Chapter One** : Glance at Dawn Island

Luffy wasn't the most observant of people, especially when he was inconsolable, but something caught his eye. There, by that outcropping of rock... was that a diver? Luffy wiped at his eyes and paid attention to the figure. Yes, it was a diver, and he had something over his shoulder. Something black. And in his hand... was that Sabo's hat? Luffy grinned and ran toward the spur, hoping wildly that he'd get there before the diver left. Maybe... maybe Sabo had leapt clear of the blast? Maybe... he didn't die? Luffy made it just as a strange ship was sailing away and he didn't want them to leave and his arm _s~t~r~e~t~c~h~e~d_ and latched onto the railing. A tug later and Luffy was sailing toward the ship. "Huh? Another brat?" a strange voice asked.

"Sabo!" Luffy yelled, bouncing up. The men on the deck blinked.

"Sabo?" they echoed, tilting their heads to the side. Luffy paid them no heed, eyes zeroed in on the limp figure on the yellow guy's shoulder.

"Is... is he... alive?" he asked, stumbling forward as he remained focused on his brother.

"Yes," the yellow man said, setting down the boy he'd carried aboard the ship and watching intently as the strange raven haired boy patted the blond down, eyes wide. Sabo moaned and Luffy's face lit up.

"SABO!" Luffy yelled, throwing his arms around his brother's neck.

"Who?" the boy asked, sending Luffy reeling back in shock.

"S... Sabo..." he muttered, eyes tearing up.

"Well he woke up faster than expected," a mildly amused voice said. Luffy spun around and came face to face with...

"Those are really cool, Tattoo Face!" The man's eyebrow twitched slightly, but oddly enough his smile grew.

"Thank you... son," he said. Everyone but the two boys screamed and fainted. Luffy looked at Sabo, and Sabo looked at Luffy, and then they both started laughing.

Neither boy ever returned to Dawn Island.

/?/

A/N: And that's the first glance that could have changed the world.

Could you imagine what Luffy and Sabo's reunion with Ace would be like? I think it would go something like this:

"And that's how I joined the Revolutionary Army!" Luffy declared proudly. Ace felt his eyebrow twitch while he could have _sworn_ he heard Sabo muttering something along the lines of 'rubber-headed meat-brain, can't keep a secret to save a life.'

"Luffy... you're an idiot."

"Shishishishishi~!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

 **Chapter Two:** Meeting on The Moby Dick

The Whitebeard Pirates weren't necessarily _allied_ with the Revolutionary Army, but they weren't _against_ them either. And being a world power as well as a force of FREEDOM! Whitebeard was kept informed of the actions of Revolutionaries in his waters. In return, Whitebeard shared information with the Revolutionaries. For a long time, it had been the same person, but this time a new face came. "Where is Lola?" Marco asked the new guy.

"She's... _indisposed_ ," the spy said diplomatically. The newest Whitebeard, who happened to be walking by, froze and turned toward the speaker.

A black top hat.

A black tail coat.

Light blue pants.

Solid black boots.

A pipe slung across his back.

Blond hair peeking out from under his _black top hat_. And was that the band of a pair of goggles?

"Sabo?" Ace breathed, hardly daring to hope. The Revolutionary twitched and turned, holding his hat and sliding into a stance that was so familiar. "You're... you're Sabo... right?"

"How do you know my name?" the spy asked, looking straight at the pirate from under his hat.

"Stop joking around!" Ace roared, leaping at him with a raised fist. The resulting fight was one of the best Ace could remember since leaving Dawn Island and the spy had scowled, but the pirate could tell it was halfhearted at best.

"STOP IT! OW! _ACE!_ " Sabo yelled before he even knew what he was saying and Ace hadn't been crying so _stop laughing Thatch!_ Sabo blinked and looked at the frozen pirate above him, really _looked_... and suddenly, something in his mind just... clicked. "Ace?" he asked.

"Sabo..." Ace whispered and suddenly they were fighting again but Sabo was grinning and there was banter and insults flying as fast as their fists and Ace had been wrong before because _this_ was the best fight since setting sail because _it was really Sabo!_

/?/

A/N: And that's the second chance meeting that would have changed the world if it had just _happened_!

Can you tell I'm mad about all the personal tragedy that hangs around the ASL brothers? GAH! And it sucks because Sabo is one of my favs and it's so hard to find a feel good story about him because then it leads into Ace and the War of the Best and all that _death!_ Ugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, it wouldn't be nearly as good, detailed, or tragic. Me likey happy stories where everyone lives.

 **Chapter Three:** Reflex at Loughtown

Sabo didn't know what he was expecting, it was Loughtown, unexpected things happened all the time there, but this certainly took the cake.

Let's back up a bit, shall we?

As Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army, Sabo wasn't often sent to meet with informants so when he was, it was a big deal. Of course, being Sabo, he was often restless and sometimes stowed away on reconnaissance ships because he was bored.

This wasn't one of those times. This time, he'd been sent.

He almost wished he'd stowed away instead. "And that's all?" Sabo asked, face pleasant and voice genteel. The informant nodded and Sabo bobbed his head before thanking the man for his time and exiting the shop. That was all par for the course. It was the rubbery hand that grabbed his arm and dragged him away that wasn't. "What?" he asked, somehow getting his feet back under him and running almost under his own power.

"Faster Sabo!" an unfamiliar-familiar voice yelled.

"Why?"

"Eh?" The tugging stopped and Sabo could see his abductor. He was a wiry youth with messy black hair and wide, innocent eyes dressed in a red vest and blue shorts with straw sandals and a straw hat. He was also blinking owlishly at Sabo. "Ah! Sorry, I thought... wait," the boy said, suddenly pressing his face toward Sabo's. "AH! You are Sabo!" he shouted, then frowned. "But you were dead. Dogura saw your ship get blown up. How are you alive?" Sabo frowned as well. The story fits but...

"I was rescued by... people," he said. The boy tilted his head curiously.

"Oh. Okay! Sabo..." the boy said, switching to happy before going straight to serious. "Why didn't you tell us you were alive? Me and Ace were really upset. You made Ace cry!" Sabo staggered back in the face of the boy's ire. It wasn't quite anger, but it still made something inside him twinge a little.

"I... I don't know who you are," he said. Almost immediately, he regretted it as the boy's face fell and his wide eyes began to water.

"Sabo... Sabo doesn't remember? You... You don't remember me? Or Ace? Or Dadan? Or the Tiger Lord? All the fun we had, living free on Dawn Island?" he asked. Sabo's head hurt. Why did it hurt? Who was this boy?

"Who... What's your name? Your dream?" he asked, the ache in his head growing stronger. The boy smiled, but something told Sabo it wasn't _right_. Why wasn't it right?

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man whose going to be Pirate King!" the boy declared with a bright, happy smile.

' _That's right_ ,' some corner of Sabo's mind whispered at the sight. Then, the dozens of other declarations he'd heard, in a much younger voice, came back in a rush. Struggling through the pain, Sabo kept his eyes on the smiling boy, on Luffy.

"And... and Ace?" he asked.

"Portagas D. Ace, our brother!" The pain was stronger. Just one last push...

"Dream?"

"To surpass his dad!" The dam broke and memories flooded his mind. So many... ten whole years came back in a rush. "Sabo?"

"Luffy... I'm sorry."

"Shishishishi~! Sabo's alive! Wait until I tell Ace! Ah. But let me be there. I want to see his face!"

"Ah. Sure you don't just want to see him punch my lights out?"

"Shishishishi~!"

/?/

A/N: My take on a popular What If that places Sabo in Loughtown when Luffy was passing though. If Luffy had seen Sabo when he was running from something (Smoker. The Bill. Nami.) would he have grabbed his brother's wrist to pull him along just like old times? Without even noticing? I thought he might have, and thus, you get this. Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

 **Chapter Four:** A Word before Death

Luffy didn't want to die. Not really. But, he could see no way out. So why worry? Why struggle? His crew was strong. Zoro was strong. They'd carry on and reach their dreams. Luffy grinned and drew in a large breath.

"NAMI! USSOP! SANJI! ZORO! ACE! SABO! Sorry, but I'm dead!" he yelled out happily, the intensity of his yell dropping slightly after naming his dead brother.

"OH NO YOU'RE NOT!" a voice bellowed. "DRAGON'S BREATH!" The execution platform creaked and shook and finally fell as the stone it was built on cracked and buckled.

"Who flashily interrupted my flashy execution?!" Buggy demanded. Out of the dust came a tall figure.

A top hat.

Long coat.

Was that a napkin around his neck?

There were goggles on his hat, the brim hiding most of his face.

The coat was black.

He wore a blue vest.

Blond?

Luffy blinked as the man looked up, intense dark brown eyes boring into Buggy.

"Sabo?" Luffy whispered. The man turned to him and smiled.

"Little brother," he said before turning back to the clown. "How did you let yourself get caught by this guy?" he asked. Luffy just laughed.

"He ambushed me!" Sabo's left shoulder dropped slightly, closing his eyes in exasperation. Luffy thought there was a large sweatdrop on his right temple, but that had to be his imagination.

"Right," the blond said. "Well, what say we take him down?" he asked, unslinging a pipe from his back. Luffy laughed and started things off with a Pistol.

"It's good to see you again, Sabo," Luffy told his long lost brother, grinning as bright as the noonday sun.

"It's good to see you too, Luffy," Sabo told him, a touch wistful. There was nothing quite like realizing you had a younger brother and that he was about to die at the same time.

"Ne, Sabo, sail with me," Luffy asked, eyes shining... or was that just the sun reflecting off of them?

"Sorry, I have commitments elsewhere," Sabo declined, thinking about his responsibilities with the Revolutionaries. And possibly Koala. Dragon also came to mind, but more in the 'wait-until-I-tell-him-his-son's-my-brother' kind of way. Hum... that was one reaction he'd need a camera on hand for. And what about Ace? He'd have to find out what the hothead was up to. Suddenly, that nickname was _so_ much more fitting! Luffy pouted, letting out a quite 'muu~!' "I'll keep in touch this time, Luffy," Sabo promised, handing him a piece of paper with his den den mushi number on it. "Call me when you get a snail!" he said, trying to get away. There was work to be done!

"Remember to look for my bounty!" Luffy entreated him, finally letting go.

He never saw Sabo's flinch at that comment.

/?/

A/N: A~nd a slightly less likely scenario, but who's to say Luffy yelling like that wouldn't have jogged a few things loose? Plus, I like the idea of Sabo interrupting Luffy's 'execution' in Loughtown.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

 **Chapter 5:** A Conversation in the Snow

Ace was on the Hunt.

Sabo was scouting out a potential source on the island.

They were both hungry.

There was only one restaurant in town.

It was just strange happenstance that the two were in the same town. The two seeing each other in the restaurant was only to be expected, considering the circumstances. Really, it's kinda hard to miss someone with a cowboy hat like Ace's and Sabo's top hat stood out pretty clearly in the crowd. Naturally, the two gravitated to each other based on their choice of head wear. "Hey, where'd you get the hat?" Ace asked around a forkful.

"Not sure. I've had it for as long as I can remember," Sabo answered. The Whitebeard Commander nodded, swallowing his food.

"Just reminds me of this rebel noble I used to know, out in East Blue," he said. The Revolutionary looked to him curiously. "You haven't been to the Goa Kingdom, have you?" Sabo grabbed his head, a dull pain pounding at his temples. Something must have shown on his face because the pirate across from him frowned. "Oi! You okay?" Ace asked, moving closer. The pain intensified and the world began to waver. "Looking a little gray there, Top Hat."

Sabo bolted.

/*/

Outside the town, in the snow, Sabo stood hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting. What was that? Suddenly, a flicker of fire caught his eye. Determined, he ignored it. "You know, I'm not the poster child for manners, but even I think you're rude," the man in the orange hat remarked, fire flickering around his hand. "And when _I_ say someone's rude... well. That's rather telling." Sabo closed his eyes against another rush of pain. "Ya know... with the pipe on your back... you really remind me of my brother, Sabo."

"How... your brother?" Sabo asked, finally looking up at the man through blurry eyes.

"Yeah," Ace said, nodding. "Sabo, the rebel noble I told you about."

"I'm... your... brother?" Sabo asked. Ace's eyes went wide before the fire-man dashed forward to catch the suddenly fainted Revolutionary.

"So not the way I would have expected our reunion to go," Ace muttered, dragging his unconscious brother through the snow and back toward the town they'd just left.

/?/

A/N: Okay, confession time. I have no clue what happened to this chapter. It did not go the way I planned. It's like Ace got possessed by Law. And Sabo's memory block made his angsty. I have no excuse. At all.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. It wouldn't be half as good if I had written it.

 **Chapter 6:** Fighting Side by Side

It had been a long time since either brother had fought together. And to commemorate the occasion, they'd picked up their old hunting weapon. The humble pipe. "Hey, doesn't this remind you of the good old days?" Ace asked his little brother. Luffy laughed loudly, punting a Billion straight over a house.

"Yeah!" he agreed, grin as wide as usual.

/*/

Unnoticed by the brawling brothers, the sailing Billion had caught the attention of a near by Revolutionary who was making use of the Rooftop Highway. "Huh? I didn't know there were people who would do that around here," the man mused and took a slight detour to find the source of the flying thug. What he found were the aforementioned brawling brothers having what appeared to be a contest as they bashed around Rent-a-Thugs with lead pipes.

"Twenty!" 'Fire Fist' Ace fairly sang, far too pleased with himself.

"AH! No way!" 'Straw Hat' Luffy bellowed, smacking another three agents aside. The watching Revolutionary frowned, something about the scene tugging at the dark recesses of his mind.

"Come on, Lu! Sabo did better than that when he was just learning!" Fire Fist taunted. The hidden watcher frowned.

"How does Fire Fist Ace know my name? And that I fight with a pipe?" he muttered, watching the brawl unfold below. Another flying thug got a little too close and, out of reflex, Sabo smacked him back down into the free-for-all. The free-for-all that ended right at that moment. Both victors looked up at the roof and caught a glimpse of black as the Revolutionary was just a little too slow to avoid detection completely.

"Ah! Luffy!" Fire Fist shouted as the rubber man flung the both of them up onto the roof. All argument was forgotten, however, at the sight of a blond dressed much like a noble. Black boots, light blue pants, black tail coat, and to top it all off... an amazingly familiar top hat. "No way," Ace breathed, the fleeing man pausing to look back, something in that empty portion of his memories telling him to stop, to listen. Of course, Fire Fist's yell drew the attention of both the milling Billions and the Marines.

"Run!" the maybe-a-noble hissed, dashing across the roof tops. Straw Hat had a better idea and stretched his arms behind both the running blond and the anxious Fire Fist.

"GUM-GUM ROCKET!" the rubbery captain yelled, catapulting all three of them across town and toward his ship, the Going Merry.

/*/

Sabo cursed all things rubber as he disentangled himself from the insane pirate that had essentially kidnapped him. "Oi! Luffy! You can't just rocket someone on board! What if he's part of Baroque Works?" an unfamiliar voice scolded over the sound of achingly familiar laughter.

"Oi~! You alright?" another voice that might have been familiar asked, a boot nudging his ribs.

"Barely," Sabo groaned, finally managing to get out of the rubbery limbs and clamber to his feet. He fixed his hat and turned to come face to face with Fire Fist Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. "Now... care to tell me why there were flying thugs?" Sabo asked, quirking an eyebrow at the infamous pirate and deciding that focusing on the cause of the fight was better for his sanity than what had happened after.

"They work for Crocodile, who's trying to break the kingdom," Straw Hat answered.

"Really?" Fire Fist asked, turning back to Straw Hat.

"That was a very simplified explanation, but yes," a woman with long blue hair answered before looking toward Sabo curiously. "Who might you be?" she asked.

"Just someone passing through," Sabo deflected.

"Shishishishi! I like you! You're funny!" Straw Hat declared, but Fire Fist wasn't so accepting.

"You remind me of someone..." he said, trailing off in contemplation.

"AH! You're right!" Straw Hat said, ceasing to laugh and getting right up in Sabo's face. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! SAABOOOOOOO?!" he yelled, leaping backward. Sabo blinked.

"That... is my name. Yes. How do you know it?" he asked, on guard. As Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army, his identity was a closely guarded secret.

"Luffy you idiot! This is obviously a different Sabo. We saw him get blown up remember?" Fire Fist argued. Sabo blinked again, then shrugged.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. The only thing I remember from my childhood, besides a loathing for my home, is a massive explosion," he offered, then became quite serious. "However, I would be interested in hearing more about Crocodile's involvement with the civil war in this kingdom. I might even be able to help you," he said. The woman with blue hair clapped her hands, eyes lighting with hope.

"You can help my kingdom?" she asked. Sabo took a closer look at her... then sighed, his head falling to hit the railing.

"It figures I'd find the missing Alabastan Princess on a pirate ship with Fire Fist Ace and a new up-and-coming rookie," he muttered. Luffy just laughed at his pain. Inconsiderate cry baby. Wait. Where did that come from? If anything, Luffy seemed fearless. Why would he be a cry baby? And when had Sabo started calling him Luffy?

"And how could you help them?" Ace asked. Wait... Fire Fist got the first name treatment too?

"I have... contacts," Sabo hedged, not wanting to give too much away while simultaneously questioning his subconscious. And that was when his baby den den mushi rang. Stepping aside, he answered only to be greeted with his partner's aggravated yelling.

"Sabo! Where are you?! I've been waiting for _hours!_ " Koala ranted. Sabo winced.

"Something came up," he answered.

"YOU ALWAYS USE THAT EXCUSE!" the fishman karate student countered.

"Ne ne, who's that?" Luffy asked, neck curled around the Revolutionary and keeping him in place.

"... Sabo?" Koala asked, dangerously calm.

"Ah. That would be the 'something,'" Sabo answered, resigned.

"Hello. I'm Money D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" the rubber-man declared cheerfully. Sabo's head began to hurt, as though something was hammering inside his head, trying to break free.

"Ha? Straw Hat Luffy? Sabo! How did you..."

"Oi, who are you talking to?" Ace asked, coming to stand beside the blond.

"Another one?" Koala asked.

"Hum? I'm Ace, not 'another one,'" the Whitebeard Commander corrected.

"And Fire Fist Ace? Sabo! Just what is going on?!"

"I... may have interrupted their fight. And they may be allies. And Princess Vivi may be on their ship," Sabo answered, rubbing what he could reach of his neck.

"Ah~ah! You always get into the craziest of situations," Koala sighed causing Sabo to chuckle. "Well, where are you, Chief? We'll meet you there."

"Chief?" Luffy and Ace echoed.

"Ah, Sabo didn't tell you?" Koala asked. "He's the Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army."

"AH! He is Sabo!" the brothers exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" the two revolutionaries asked.

"OUR BROTHER! SABO!"

" _HOW DID YOU GET THAT OUT OF HIM/ME BEING THE CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY?!_ " Koala and Sabo bellowed at the two pirates.

"Because Sabo is bossy, he remembers getting blown up, he fights with a pipe, and he forgets to tell people important things like how he's still alive and that you shouldn't worry," said brothers answered.

Silence. Pure, shocked, _silence_. And then...

"HAHAHAHA! They've got you pegged, Sabo!" Koala laughed. Sabo groaned, head in his free hand.

"Please don't encourage them, Koala," he pled. The den den mushi's grin simply grew.

"Ne ne, do you know the name of your home island?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Dawn Island. Dragon rescued me from Dawn Island after a Celestial Dragon fired on my boat," Sabo answered.

"Yep, you're our Sabo," Ace said with a nod. The blond Revolutionary whimpered even as he felt a grin tug at his lips. Whatever he'd expected of his trip to Alabasta, this certainly hadn't been it.

(But as he joined the Straw Hats for a minor party/gossip session, Sabo knew he wouldn't trade this for the world.)

/?/

A/N: Okay... I meant for Sabo to join in with his pipe while they were fighting the Billions but instead, this happened. Geeze guys, work with me here!

Crazy ASL bros...


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

A/N: YEE! This is one I've been _really_ looking forward to! I have to say, it might seem a little odd but I love it. This might just be my favorite one-shot so far.

 **Chapter 7:** A Meal with a Ghost

Sabo walked into a random restaurant in Alburna for lunch after a long morning of running around, gathering intel on just what went down in the Kingdom of Alabasta, and sounding out new contacts. All the tables were full, including the bar, and thus forced the Revolutionary to share a table. If Sabo hadn't been halfway delirious with hunger, he would have just turned around and found somewhere else to eat. As it was, the young man he sat down across from seemed the cheerful, friendly type who was willing to spare a little table space.

The eating competition, however, was _completely_ unintentional and started without any outward signs that such a competition was about to occur. That wasn't to say Sabo didn't enjoy it, no-one in the Revolutionary Army could keep up with him and it was actually kind of fun having that kind of challenge.

He couldn't have predicted the outcome any more than he could have predicted the competition in the first place.

"I... I can't believe I got beat at an _eating competition!_ " Sabo remarked, staring at the towers of plates surrounding him and his black haired table companion. The other man just laughed. As his laughter trailed off, the man stared at Sabo with a melancholic look in his large black eyes.

"Saa... This was always the only way I could beat you, Sabo," he said, then opened the untouched bottle of sake he'd ordered when he'd seen Sabo's face and poured out two saucers. Nodding solemnly to the Revolutionary, the young man knocked back his saucer, set the other before Sabo, and left. Sabo stared at the saucer that sat innocently in front of him before he reached forward and drank. As he did, memories filled his mind.

"Luffy," he breathed, staring at the space his brother had occupied just a moment before. "Luffy!" he said a bit stronger as he stood and turned to the door that was swinging shut after his _brother_. Off balance, Sabo staggered out after _his_ _ **brother**_. "LUFFY!" he yelled, chasing the red vest belonging to _his_ _ **younger**_ _ **brother**_. The young man didn't turn and Sabo pushed harder. No way was he letting this link to his past go! "Stop you rubber brain!" he bellowed. That caused the young pirate to stop and turn, shock plain on his face.

"Sabo?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah, it's me," Sabo answered, grinning semi-sheepishly down at Luffy.

"UGWAH!" Luffy shouted, launching himself at the blond. Sabo grinned, hugging Luffy back with the same intensity.

"Luffy," he sighed, feeling the broken pieces of his past coming together.

(It wasn't the prettiest reunion, nor was it the quietest, but with a brother like Straw Hat Luffy, it was the _only_ kind of reunion.)

/?/

A/N: And the most melancholic piece I've written for this collection yet. Ah, but it was fun to write...

Let me know how you've enjoyed these little snippets so far in that lovely box down below, would you please?


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Wait... I just did this!

Idon'townOnePiece.

 **Chapter 8:** Sighting in a Trash Heap

The scrap yard outside of Water 7 was a good place for a clandestine meeting. Isolated, filled with hiding places, and possessing multiple escape routes. It wasn't really as private or secretive as some members of the meeting would like, but it was the Revolutionaries that set it up and no-one really wanted to offend them. An offended Revolutionary would either give you memory loss or vanish and never be seen again.

The scrap yard happened to be Sabo's favorite meeting place. It filled him with an aching sort of nostalgia. Dragon had told him he was picked up from a place called Gray Terminal, which was essentially a trash heap, but there was something... more... about it. Same thing with his pipe really.

No-one had expected Whitebeard's Second Division Commander showing up though. That was _not_ part of the plan. Neither was him deciding to fight the Chief of Staff. Of course, that didn't stop the eclectic mix from pulling up some scrap and watching the show.

Some bets _may_ have been made.

Everyone who _might_ have made some bets lost when instead of a one winning and one losing, the two powerful young men decided to hug instead. "Sabo! Why didn't you tell me you were alive!" Ace wailed.

"I couldn't remember that I needed to!" Sabo said, having to raise his voice to be heard over the pirate's cries.

"Hey, you know what just happened?" one guy asked the Revolutionary beside him.

"Looks to me like the Chief got his memories back," a different Revolutionary answered.

"Eh? Chief?" a new voice asked. The gathered Revolutionaries, pirate, and sundry others turned to see...

"Ah! Luffy! Look who I found!" Fire Fist Ace bellowed, waving at the newcomer with one arm and holding onto Sabo as though he'd vanish with the other.

"Hum? WAH! Sabo?!" Luffy yelled, eyes literally bugging out in shock. Then came the water works swiftly followed by a tackle hug.

The watchers decided this was going a little too far and agreed to conduct their business without the Revolutionaries' Chief of Staff. Something told them, this was one reunion that was long overdue and would likely spark an alliance to shake the heavens.

/?/

A/N: Well... they weren't wrong. I have no doubt Whitebeard is capable of at least _appearing_ to shake the heavens and Ace is not only a member of his crew but the son of his rival so... Yeah. Plus... Straw Hat Pirates. Nuf said.

Gah! I love these brothers so much! If you have a suggestion, I am all ears and I might decide to turn some of these one-shots into part of a bigger story so let me know your favorite!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

To my Guest Reviewer who gave a rather detailed plan for Sabo to get to Marineford: I don't know if you gave me a one shot or a full blown story! I am attempting to go through the first half of the Grand Line and pick out the time and places that Sabo might meet up with his brothers and Marineford I swiftly approaching so I may end up ending this story with several Marineford What Ifs. When I'm done with these main What Ifs, I think I'll try to do follow up one-shots. Glad you've enjoyed this so far and I hope future Ripples will be up to your expectations.

 **Chapter 9:** Drinks at Water Seven

It hadn't been part of the plan to get caught in the Aqua Laguna but it happened and now he was; stuck, underwater, in a watertight bar, with a pirate crew. ' _Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke_ ,' Sabo thought to himself as he nursed his drink. The pirates were loud but at least they were leaving him alone. For the moment. "Man, did you hear about Straw Hat?"

"Yeah! Crazy idiot was planning to go against CP9 wasn't he?" Sabo's ears pricked up at that. A pirate was going against Cipher Pol Nine? And a rookie pirate at that, considering Sabo had only heard a few rumors about Straw Hat taking down Crocodile at Alburna. He had mentally cursed himself for not noticing the pirate's intervention, seeing as he'd been in Rainbase at around that time.

"Something about his Archeologist?"

"I heard it was Nico Robin, the Devil Child herself!" Sabo frowned and set his drink to the side. Nico Robin was a member of the Straw Hat Crew? Hum... if that was true, maybe this delay was worth it. He smiled and sat back, listening to the local gossip. No way was he letting this chance go.

/*/

The water had receded and the Straw Hats plus one had returned. The blond laid in wait until he saw the infamous Straw Hat enter a bar with his green haired first mate, Pirate Hunter Roanoa Zoro, before making his move. Smooth as the secret agent he was, Sabo slipped in behind the pair and slid onto a stool beside Straw Hat. "Sake and three saucers, please," he asked, sliding across a stack of coins. The bartender nodded and pulled out the requested items, pushing them back toward the stylish blond. "To a successful raid, Straw Hat," Sabo remarked, flicking the other two saucers to the ex-bounty hunter and his captain.

"Shishishishi! Thanks, Top Hat Guy!" Straw Hat said, grinning so hard his eyes were closed.

"So... what possessed you to declare war on the world?" Sabo asked. Straw Hat stopped grinning so wide and gave the Revolutionary a semi-serious look.

"No-one hurts my Nakama and gets away with it," he declared. Sabo felt a chill run down his back.

"Ever consider joining the Revolutionaries?" he asked, internally begging the boy to say yes.

"No." The flat refusal almost made Sabo bow his head. Almost.

"Why?" he asked instead, hoping the youth had a really amazing answer.

"Because I'm the man who's going to become King of the Pirates!" Okay, that was a sufficiently awesome answer. Why did it seem so familiar? Thousands of people had to have declared that already so what was so different here? Straw Hat, messy black hair, intense eyes, crescent shaped scar under his eye, rubber powers, brother complex wait what? "Who are you? You seem... familiar."

"You may call me Sabo." Shoot! He hadn't meant to say that! Where was his usual filter? He cast a suspicious glance at his empty sake saucer. No, one drink couldn't be enough to cause him to loosen up that much... could it?

"Sa... bo?" Straw Hat asked, titling his head in confusion. Sabo smiled at him, hoping he wouldn't ask for more. "AH! SABO!"

"That'd be my name. Please don't wear it out," the blond quipped.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU WERE ALIVE?!" Luffy bellowed as he jabbed a finger at Sabo, accusation and pain hitting the Revolutionary harder than he was expecting.

"I... 'us?'" Sabo floundered.

"Ace and me!" Luffy answered, glaring.

"Ace and I, Luffy," Sabo instantly corrected before freezing. Why did that come so easily? When had the pirate changed from Straw Hat to Luffy?

"It is you!" Luffy bellowed before launching himself at Sabo.

"Of course it is, who else would I be?" Sabo couldn't help but ask, arms instinctively coming up to wrap around the bawling mass of rubber that was his little brother. ' _Eh? Little brother?_ ' he pondered, still hugging the wailing pirate. ' _And Ace... who was..._ ' Memories swam in front of his eyes, blank spaces in his past filling in. ' _Oh, Fire Fist Ace was our other brother. Wait..._ Fire Fist Ace is my brother!? _Okay, definitely need to ask permission to hunt him down. I heard he was headed toward... Banaro? Yeah, I think that was it. He's hunting... Black Beard! Reckless idiot, charging off without backup._ '

"I can't believe you're alive!" Luffy cried.

"Keep hugging him like that and he won't be," Zoro cut in, dragging his captain off of the blond.

"AH! SABO! I'M SORRY!" Luffy yelled, willingly removing his limbs from his long lost brother and allowing him to breath.

"It's okay. You're not the only over enthusiastic hugger I've had the pleasure of knowing," Sabo countered with a grin. "Though, you're the first to break through my amnesia, so you've got that going for you. Cry baby."

"HEY! Only Ace calls me cry baby!" Luffy countered, then confusion took over his features again. "What's aminia?"

"Amnesia. It's when you can't remember something and is usually caused by injury or trauma," Sabo explained. "In my case, it was probably both."

"Oh! Okay," Luffy said, accepting the fact his brother couldn't remember him until that day... oh who are we kidding? "EEHH!? YOU CAN'T REMEMBER?!"

"Ah. It was quite frustrating at first," Sabo answered. "Then I just... got over it."

"How do you get over not being able to remember anything!?" Luffy yelled.

"Only my childhood memories were effected. I can remember all the way back to when I woke up in the infirmary after the explosion but until now, I couldn't remember before that. Well, except the fact that I didn't want to go home," Sabo explained. "The trauma induced by my parents outweighed the trauma of the blast." Luffy nodded, then froze.

"Are you going to tell Ace?" he asked. Sabo nodded firmly.

"Last I heard, he was headed after Blackbeard, who was last sighted somewhere near Banaro. So, I'm going to head that way and call in on the ship. Dragon might not be too happy with me but I'm not going to let Ace fight Blackbeard on his own," he declared. Luffy nodded and reached up for his hat.

"When we met in Alabasta, Ace gave me this," he said, pulling out the vivre card and holding it out to Sabo. "He said it would help us meet again." Sabo took the card with reverence, then tore it in two. "HEY!"

"Don't worry, this is just so we each have a piece," Sabo said with a smile, handing part of the card back to Luffy, who immediately put it back in the band of his hat, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bigger card, quickly scribbling something down, and then tearing the scribble off. "This is my vivre card, it works the same as Ace's. The number is for my personal den den mushi," he explained, handing Luffy the piece of paper. Luffy tucked that card into the band of his hat as well.

"Don't die again, okay Sabo?"

"I'll do my absolute best. Especially now that I have you to live for," Sabo answered, giving the pirate captain a bow before walking out the door. "Call me when you get a snail," he tossed back and then... he was gone.

/?/

A/N: … to beat sense into Ace and then Blackbeard laughed at them, the Revolutionaries filled him with Sea Prism Stone bullets, and they all had a party.

Seriously, that's how I see this scenario playing out. Let me know if you have any ideas what would happen once Sabo meets up with Ace on Banaro!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

 **Chapter 10:** Crossroad Collision

The Sabaody Archipelago was the quintessential meeting point. Semi-neutral ground, the gateway to the New World, the place where all routes met before going on, and pretty much a commercial daydream.

In more ways than one.

Shady deals were made aplenty on the islands made from the roots of massive mangrove trees. Slavers, drug dealers, information brokers, arms dealers, even back alley doctors could be found at Sabaody... if you knew where to look. Obviously, the slavers and arms dealers were the easiest to find, the auction house being clearly marked and arms dealers being oh-so-close to legal. It was the drug barons and news rats that were harder to find. For a man like the Blue Gentleman, however, informants were easily scented. It was honestly amazing how people just seemed to spill their secrets to barkeeps and pretty shop girls, especially in a place like The Groves. Indeed, it was a simple matter for Sabo to collect quite a bit of news all on his own simply walking down the street. Still, it never hurt to get the opinion of someone who made their living off of selling information and so there he was, making the rounds. As he was walking, he was surprised to find a rubbery body colliding with him. "You okay? Geez Luffy, watch where you're going! I'm so sorry for my Captain," an unfamiliar, female, voice said. Sabo fixed his hat to find a rather pretty ginger giving him a worried look. He wasn't fooled. She had a hard glint to her eye that, while she did appear genuinely frightened, gave away her past (or was it present?) as a thief. She was playing him, albeit with an overtone of truth.

"I'm fine, miss," he told her, giving her a gentle smile. A smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Shishishishi~! Sorry sorry!" a young man sang from behind Sabo, causing the Revolutionary to turn. The first thing he noticed was the old straw hat. That was enough to identify who he'd run into... if the rubbery feel of his body hadn't already.

"Ah. Straw Hat Luffy," Sabo muttered, curious despite himself.

"And who might you be?" the ginger from before asked, also appearing curious despite herself.

"You may call me the Blue Gentleman," Sabo responded, standing to sweep her an elegant bow. The girl smirked at him and Sabo could have sworn her eyes flashed Beli signs.

"A gentleman huh? What do you say to helping a lady out?" she asked.

"Alas, fair maid, I cannot. I have business to attend to in Grove 41, which is, dare I say, no place for a flower such as yourself," Sabo declined, giving her a smirk of his own.

"Hey," Straw Hat said, eyes shadowed by his hat. "What's your _real_ name." The ginger woman reeled as though this was highly out of character for Straw Hat. Going from what he'd read about the young Supernova Captain, Sabo was inclined to agree. Straw Hat was known more for his bullheaded recklessness and loud enjoyment of life than he was intimidation or information gathering. Intrigued by this new development, Sabo decided to indulge the pirate. ' _Who knows,_ ' the Revolutionary thought, ' _having a wild card in the deck might come in handy_.'

"Well, since you asked so nicely, my name is Sabo. A pleasure to meet you, Straw Hat Luffy," he said, giving the pirate a rough sketch of a bow, eyes never leaving the shadowed face under that (in)famous straw hat.

"Sabo... I don't believe you," Luffy answered, angry eyes rising to stare into the depths of Sabo's soul. Taken aback, the blond reeled. "I saw the wreckage. I heard the boom of the cannonball. My brother is dead," Straw Hat declared, ignoring the sharp intakes of breath and the shocked mutters of, 'he had _another_ brother?! Why doesn't he tell us these things!' Sabo noted them, but most of his focus was on Straw Hat, a pirate who seemed to know about his past.

"I remember an explosion... but everything before it... All I know is I never wanted to go back," Sabo told the glaring captain. Luffy blinked, back straightening and shadows lifting from his face.

"You... don't remember?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Ah! He must have amnesia!" a cute creature that Sabo almost mistook for a tanuki piped up. Sabo nodded.

"Correct, though whether it was triggered by trauma or injury is unclear," he answered.

"If your earliest memory is an explosion, it could be caused by both," the... was it a reindeer?

"Pardon me but, what are you?" Sabo said before he could stop himself. That quirk was going to get him into some serious trouble some day...

"Ah! I'm Chopper! Tony Tony Chopper, doctor for the Straw Hat pirates. I ate the Human-Human Fruit."

"That didn't answer my question," Sabo remarked, feeling the tension drain from his shoulders. Just what were these pirates doing to him? He rarely ever relaxed like this on a mission!

"I'm a reindeer," Chopper answered, a blush somehow visible through his fur. Sabo nodded, mentally chuckling over how misinformed the Marines must be to have labeled the ship's doctor as the _pet_. That seemed to be all the pirate captain needed.

"SABOO!" he yelled, reacting with shock as he came to a conclusion.

"That's my name, yes," the blond answered, amused.

"I'm so glad! Sabo!" Luffy cried, launching himself at the revolutionary.

"Still a crybaby, huh?" Sabo once again found his mouth moving without him, but something told him... he'd said this kind of thing before.

"WAGH! SHUT UP! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! SABOOO!" Luffy wailed, clinging to his long-lost brother even tighter.

/*/

It wasn't until Sabo heard the news that Fire Fist Ace was set to be executed, roughly a week after his encounter with Straw Hat Luffy, that Sabo truly understood what he'd lost in the explosion all those years ago. "We're stealing Fire Fist Ace from the Marines," Sabo told his men quite firmly when he returned to his ship, face set like stone and haki crackling around him in fury. If his men hadn't known better, they would have said Sabo had the King's Disposition. Curious looks were shared, but Sabo remained tight-lipped as he set course for Marineford. Once it was locked in, the Chief of Staff went to the Snail Room and called Baltigo. "I remembered," he said as soon as it picked up.

"Did you now?" Dragon remarked, sounding singularly unsurprised.

"I'm taking my brother back and no-one; not the marines, not Whitebeard, not even you, can stop me," Sabo declared, a faint growl underscoring his words.

"And who might this brother be?" Dragon asked, still possessing his nigh-legendary calm.

"Fire Fist Ace." Silence filled the room, warring with Sabo's steely determination.

"Hum... hadn't expected that," Dragon remarked. Sabo smirked.

"I also ran into Monkey D. Luffy. Literally," he said. This seemed to catch Dragon's attention.

"And was this..." the Most Wanted Man asked.

"What lead to me getting some of my memories back. The newspaper did the rest," Sabo cut in, eyes darting to the window as anxiety burned within him. "He's my brother too. Imagine that; I have two brothers and they're both crazy."

"Imagine; I have three sons and they're all recklessly stubborn," Dragon shot back, causing Sabo to freeze. "Go. Do what you have to do, Sabo. You have my blessing."

To say that Sabo was shocked by Dragon's revelation would be an understatement.

To call Ace's reaction to not one but _two_ brothers from Dawn Island trying to save him 'stunned' would also be an understatement.

Saying that the marines got their collective hides tanned and their greatest pride demolished while their records halls were picked clean and the world lost a good measure of respect for them would be... fairly accurate, actually. The Revolutionaries were quite pleased with their work that day, gaining not only large amounts of classified information but also cementing an alliance between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army.

Yes, it was a good day to be a Revolutionary.

/?/

A/N: Okay, so Dragon was pretty OOC and the end could have been better, but I wasn't looking to make a full story out of this! These one-shots are supposed to be snapshots of how Sabo could have gotten his memory back earlier or revealed he was alive to Luffy and/or Ace sooner. (But this one would definitely make a good story, I must admit.)


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

 **Chapter 11:** Interrogations and Jailbreaks

The downfall of the feared Cipher Police Number Nine and subsequent destruction of the Judicial Island was a windfall for the Revolutionaries as the Director of CP9 was reported to have been tossed into Level _Six_ of Impel Down. Dragon was about to order their agent on the inside to interrogate the newest inmate, but Sabo stopped him with an odd look on his face and a hand on his arm. "I need to go," the blond said firmly. Dragon hummed, prompting the young man to explain. "There's something... bugging me. It started when Blackbeard showed up and just... won't go away. Please... let me interrogate Spandam." Dragon sighed and stepped away from the snail, nodding. Giving his leader and mentor a wan smile, Sabo left to find a marine to antagonize.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sabo," Dragon rumbled into the empty office.

/*/

"What in Paradise am I doing?" Sabo hissed as he was lead deeper into Impel Down. The infiltration part of his plan had gone well, but that was to be expected. Jumping onto a marine ship and declaring, 'Down with the Celestial Monarchy!' before proceeding to rip through the majority of the marines aboard before allowing himself to be subdued was _supposed_ to be a one-way ticket to Level Six. It was only as he was locked up that Sabo began to wonder if he'd jumped the gun a bit and bit off more than he could chew as a major flaw showed in his 'master plan.' How, exactly, was he supposed to get back _out_?

"Another one joins the darkness, huh?" a dry, scathing voice drawled. Sabo smirked in the direction of Sir Crocodile.

"Sorry, Sandy, but I'm not here for you," he remarked.

"Who are you here for?" another inmate asked.

"Spandam," Sabo answered with a feral grin. There was a squeak from Sabo's left and the Revolutionary turned to find the object of his mission sitting _in the same cell_. "Well... that's awfully convenient," the Revolutionary remarked, tone far too polite and smile far too pleasant to mean anything good for the disgraced government agent. Spandam continued to shiver in the corner, eyes wide and fearful as he stared at... the scar over Sabo's eye? "What? I have something on my face?" Sabo asked, quirking the corresponding eyebrow.

"T-that scar!" Spandam stuttered, raising a manacled hand to point at said disfigurement. Sabo canted his head 'innocently' and the inmates closest fell silent to watch the drama unfold.

"What of it?" Sabo asked, honestly confused. There shouldn't be any stories about his _scar_ of all things.

"Th-there are stories of a man with a scar like that wiping out _entire warships_ _ **by himself**_!" Spandam declared fearfully. Sabo chuckled, low and dark.

"Whole warships? Then where do the stories come from I wonder?" he remarked, leaning easily against the cell wall. Sabo chuckled again at the look on Spandam's face. ' _I don't even have to do a thing_ ,' he thought with dark glee. ' _He'll work himself into a frenzy all on his own and then I'll ask him simple questions. He'll end up spilling his guts in no time_.' After watching the shaking heap of flesh in the corner for a little longer, the interrogator hummed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. ' _Let him stew for a while. Not like we're going anywhere anytime soon._ '

/*/

It was when the doors opened and a new prisoner was dragged in that Sabo startled awake. To his surprise, it was two prisoners... and one of them was Jimbe. Dark blue eyes followed Jimbe and the smaller figure with him as the two were lead to the cell across from the Revolutionary. The heavy cell door slammed shut, the guards taunted the new inmates, and then stomped back up the stairs and out of the Black Zone. Sabo wondered how long it took the guards before they forgot about the inmates of Level Six. Shaking that from his mind, Sabo turned to the fishman he'd met occasionally. "You look like you went a round with Kuma, Jimbe. What gives?" he asked. The large whale shark fishman started before turning his attention to the blond Revolutionary.

"Sabo?" he asked. The figure beside Jimbe shifted but neither paid him any attention.

"That'd be my name," Sabo drawled, pushing his face into the light and grinning.

"Why are you here?" Sabo shrugged.

"CP9's Spandam got thrown in here. I offered to interrogate. Now, here we are and I can't help but wonder... would your information be more interesting than Spandam's?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager. Jimbe shrugged back.

"Only if you can get news to Dragon that the marines are trying to start a war with Whitebeard by publicly executing one of his Commanders from in here," the former Warlord answered. Sabo frowned.

"That is news. I'm assuming that's why _you're_ here?" he replied.

"I opposed the war and was stripped of my position," Jimbe confirmed.

"Sa... bo?" the slender figure in Jimbe's cell asked, voice dry and croaky as though he'd screamed himself hoarse before deciding stony silence was better after all.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Sabo answered. Suddenly, Fire Fist Ace was straining against his chains and pressing his face into the bars, dark eyes burning with an odd kind of... desire?

"Sabo? Outlook Sabo?" Fire Fist asked, nigh on frantic, those burning eyes searching Sabo's face for _something_.

"I don't remember my childhood," Sabo confessed, repressing the desire to flinch at the name 'Outlook.' "The only reason I know my name is because of my hat." A hat he mourned having left behind but, he couldn't risk it getting destroyed. He loved that hat! Fire Fist frowned before settling back slightly with a mulish expression.

"We'll just have to wait for Luffy. Crazy idiot will no doubt try to bust me out," he finally said, as though he'd come to some grand conclusion. Sabo quirked an eyebrow at the other man. "Our little brother, Straw Hat Luffy?" Ace prompted. Seeing a lack of recognition on the blond's face Ace smirked and Jimbe nearly groaned. However, it was Spandam's reaction that tore it for the two men. He screamed in rage and fear and tried to press himself further back into the rock. "What's with him?" Ace asked, doing his best to jerk a thumb at the muttering ex-agent. Sabo's savage grin was back.

"This is Spandam, former Director of CP9," he began. "He stole something from Straw Hat." Ace nearly choked.

"He _didn't!_ " he crowed, turning amused eyes on the now shivering pile of flesh in Sabo's cell.

"Oh, he did," the blond confirmed with unholy glee.

"How bad, exactly, did Luffy eff him up?" Ace asked, dark mischief in his deep brown eyes. Sabo's savage grin widened slightly.

"According to our sources? Straw Hat Luffy and his crew were _directly_ responsible for the complete destruction of the Tower of Justice, the Courthouse, and a _World Government flag!_ " he answered, quite satisfied by the approving whistle Ace gave. Even Jimbe appeared impressed. "And that wasn't all. The way I heard it, Straw Hat himself took down _Rob Lucci_ and lived to tell about it. Between the rest of the crew, CP9 was _annihilated_ and due to their actions... the whole island _burned_." Ace was gaping now and Sabo was _certain_ Jimbe was impressed.

"So. My defeat was not just a fluke," Crocodile mused aloud. Sabo blinked and shared a look with Ace.

"You know about Luffy taking down Sir Sandy?" Sabo asked, taking his turn to do his best to jerk a thumb in the object of discussion's general direction. Ace shook his head before his shock was replaced with pride.

"No, but if anyone were going to knock the croc down a peg, it would be Luffy," the pirate said with undeniable brotherly pride. Sabo chuckled darkly once more and the inmate to the left snapped.

"Would you stop that?! It's freaking _creepy_!" he snarled. All traces of emotion vanished from Sabo's face as he slowly turned to the idiot.

"Is this better?" he asked lowly.

"Never mind. Go back to chuckling," the man said, swiftly revising his opinion of the blond. Sabo grinned at him.

"Thank you," he remarked politely before turning back to Ace. "So, you think Straw Hat's going to come and break you out?" Ace nodded and Sabo shook his head. "You're probably right but that leaves just one question. _What are you going to do when he does?_ " Ace' mouth snapped shut and his eyes burned mutinously.

"First, I'll have him confirm if it's you or not. Kid has, like, a sixth sense when it comes to us. Second, we're going to get your memory back if you _are_ who I think you are. Third, you two are getting out of here," the pirate declared. Sabo quirked an unimpressed eyebrow at the other man.

"This is Straw Hat Luffy we're talking about; the young man who _stormed_ the Judicial Island for the sake of a _crew_ _mate_. Do you _honestly_ think he's going to let you stay behind?" he asked. Ace huffed but a hint of uncertainty had crept into his eyes. Sabo decided to call that a win and turned to Spandam. "Now that that's cleared up, and my escape all but assured... how about that interrogation, huh?" The man nearly threw himself at Sabo's feet.

/*/

Ace found himself impressed as he watched Sabo verbally pick apart Spandam's brain. And yes, the distention was necessary, what with pirates like Trafalgar Law out there. The Whitebeard Commander was even more impressed that his brother, and he was getting surer of it as time went on, had managed to smuggle a notebook and pen into Impel Down; let alone the lowest level. Interrogation done, Sabo leaned against the rock wall and took a nap. Ace chuckled and shook his head before followed Sabo's lead. Neither were too sure how long they'd slept before the roof came down.

No seriously, the _roof came down_.

"Well that's one way to make an entrance," Sabo remarked, straightening. Ace shook his head.

"Like you said earlier; this is Luffy we're talking about," he said, chuckling softly.

"ACE!" Luffy roared as he charged down the stairs toward his brother.

"Oh. Izuma. Luffy managed to convince you guys to help him? Man, I'd heard he was charismatic but dang!" Sabo remarked, noticing the figure descending the stairs just behind the ballistic rubber pirate. Luffy turned to him and blinked.

"Huh? Who are you?" he asked.

"Well, Ace there seems convinced I'm his long lost brother; which is ridiculous. We look nothing alike. You two, on the other hand, I can believe," Sabo answered, waving a hand at the to noirettes.

"It's Sabo, Luffy," Ace said. Luffy blinked again, looking from one to the other, before pointing at Sabo and exclaiming,

"AHH! SABOOO!" The blond had only a moment to blink and lean back before the rubbery captain was launching himself through the bars to get to him. Snot and tears soon covered Sabo's front as rubbery arms wrapped around him three times.

"Is he always like this?" Sabo managed to ask Ace, deciding to ignore the whole bypassing-prison-bars thing. Of course, this was merely a stop-gap measure to stem the oncoming flood of insanity.

"No, only when he sees someone he thought was dead come back to life," the smirking pirate commander answered. Sabo pouted and turned his attention back to the rubber pirate who seemed determined to suffocate him.

"Lu! If you keep hugging me like this I really _will_ be dead!" he protested. Luffy immediately snapped back and eyed his brother worriedly, as though he thought Sabo would vanish if he didn't watch him.

"So, that jog anything loose?" Ace asked, surprisingly chill for a literal hothead. Sabo was about to shake his head when suddenly he blacked out. Memories flashed by like a home movie on triple rewind; scenes out of order yet the subject knew where they went on their timeline; until it ended on an image of three boys toasting each other with stolen sake.

/*/

Seeing their brother topple over, Luffy was quick to grab him while Ace shouted futilely. "Ace, we need to get out of here," Luffy said, being the unlikely voice of reason while dragging Sabo to the door of his cell and trying to open it. The scissor man who had helped Luffy get to Level Six pulled out a key ring and opened it when the sea stone bars proved too much for the rubber pirate to manage while carrying a passed out older brother. Luffy shouted his thanks as he snatched the keys and opened Ace's cell as well. Two sets of unlocked sea stone cuffs later and the ASL brothers, plus a couple of recently freed Revolutionaries and an ex-Warlord, were rushing out of the infamous underwater prison. When they reached the surface, a ship was attacking the harbor. Lucky for the brothers, Sabo woke up and recognized the ship.

"Ace, signal that ship. It's one of mine," he said. Ace looked at hi long lost brother like he was crazy.

"Why would they respond to my signal?" he asked. "I don't know anything about the Revolution."

"Dragon. Make a dragon. Show the claw foot," Sabo said, struggling to wake up fully from the information download. Ace nodded and shot a dragon of flame into the air. The ships turned and made their way to the brothers. Once it was close enough, Luffy wrapped his arms around Ace and Sabo to launch the three of them onto the deck.

"Hey! You're friends of Sabo?" the supernova asked, looking around eagerly. It was only due to the general serious demeanor of the Revolution that the sailors on the RA ship didn't full on face-fault.

"Yes, he's always like this. No, I'm not hurt. Yes, I am leaning on Fire Fist Ace. Yes, I told him to make a flaming dragon. No, I have not lost my mind. Yes, I did have fun, thank you _ever_ so much for asking now can we _get going_ already?!" Sabo rattled off, ending with a snarl and a glare. It was surprisingly intimidating, considering he was, in fact, leaning on Ace's shoulder quite heavily. The Revolutionaries literally jumped too while Luffy laughed and Ace watched in bemusement.

"They always react like that to you, Sabo?" he asked his blond brother. With a sigh, Sabo shrugged himself off of Ace's shoulder and gave him a wry smirk.

"Well, I am the Chief of Staff so... kinda, yeah," he said. Luffy's laughter got louder and Ace shook his head in disbelief.

"Only you, Sabo. Only you," the Whitebeard Commander remarked, looking around for a likely spot for the galley.

"Hungry are we, Ace?" Sabo asked with a knowing smirk.

"MEAT!" Luffy roared, causing Sabo to laugh and head unerringly toward where he knew the galley to be.

"Follow me and don't mind the others. They're just not used to visitors," he told his brothers.

/*/

Even as they ate, Sabo was trying to come to terms with the fact that he had two brothers that he'd essentially abandoned back on Dawn Island. And that said brothers had risen to be two of the craziest pirates on the Blues, if not the Grand Line. The New World for Ace. "Oi, better eat your food before one of us steals it!" Ace called... right before falling forward. Due to his recently returned memories and highly trained reflexes, Sabo managed to catch the slightly younger man by the shoulders before he face-planted into his food. Predictably, Luffy laughed and stole Ace's food.

"Hey, Sabo! What do you say we draw on Ace's face?" the young captain asked, holding up a marker he'd pulled from _somewhere_. Sabo considered the offer for a moment, then grinned and pulled out his own pen.

"The one with the best design gets an extra serving of meat, the one whose design takes him the longest to notice gets two," he challenged. Luffy fairly glowed as he accepted the challenge and commenced drawing. Sabo saw right away that he was going to win Best Design, but that still left the Longest to Notice award. Picking a lovely spot just above Ace's mark, directly on the shoulder blade, Sabo set to work drawing a cute fireball. Don't ask _him_ how a fireball could be cute, it just was okay? Anyway, the less said about Luffy's attempt the better. Five minutes later and Ace awoke to an empty table and two laughing brothers. Aside from the lack of food, and Nakama, it was like waking to a dream. That was when he noticed the...

"Luffy... did you draw on me while I was sleeping?" Ace asked, deathly calm. Luffy laughed, then pouted.

"Guess I don't get the extra meat," he muttered. Sabo chuckled and threw an arm over his youngest brother's shoulders.

"Don't worry, you'll get it eventually," he told him before turning a smile on Ace. "If you ask the cook nicely, she just might give you a snack," he said. Ace smiled back.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," he remarked before getting up to beg treats off the aforementioned cook. Seeing the cutesy fireball dancing on his brother's back, Luffy began to laugh again. Ace froze, then looking in the window. After living with a heck of a lot of pirates(who seemed to think he turned into a sketchbook as soon as he fell asleep) Ace had learned several tricks, one of them being how to check his back for drawings. "I'm guessing this is _your_ handy work, Sabo?"

"Guilty as charged, I'm afraid," Sabo remarked dramatically, complete with sweeping his iconic top hat from his wavy blond head and dipping into a shallow bow. This contrite image was summarily shattered by his amused smirk and unrepentant eyes when he titled his head back up. "So what do you think? Not bad for a first time, yeah?" he asked cheekily. Ace stared at his brother for a long moment before lunging at him. It was only because Sabo had experience with New World grade pirates that he was able to avoid Ace's attack and escape above deck. Of course, Luffy was just laughing for the joy of having his first family reunited at long last.

(He was perhaps the only one looking forward to his crew catching up with him and thus meeting _both_ of his brothers.)

/?/

A/N: and cut! I was asked for more ASL interaction(as opposed to SL or AS interaction) and I have endeavored to deliver. I hope you enjoyed my longest chapter of Ripples in the Impossible Sea to date!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

Going back in time from the previous one-shot, this is set not long after Ace entered Paradise(first half of the Grand Line) and Sabo is not nearly as highly ranked in the Revolutionary Army.

 **Chapter 12:** Fire on the Beach

It had been almost a year since he'd set out from Dawn Island and Ace had gathered a grand crew. "Oi! Captain! The boys and I are headed out to explore the city!" Jack called. Ace nodded and all but two of his crew rushed off laughing.

"Captain? Aren't you going to explore as well?" asked Kokoro.

"Hum... not in the city," Ace answered, jumping ship and stalking off down the beach toward the more uninhabited and overgrown portion of the island they'd docked at. "It wouldn't so to ruin the boys' fun by playing with fire," he said, inadvertently lighting his shirt on fire. "Gah!" Kokoro laughed at his misfortune and he flipped her a burning bird.

Did he say 'grand crew?' More like, 'sadistic, rebellious nut-jobs.' Not like he was much better, to be honest, but then he was also known to be rather contrary. What was a little hypocrisy on top of that? Besides, he was a pirate.

/*/

It had been a long, hard mission and the young blond was all too happy to just let the current carry him along. He wasn't sure when he'd lost his boat... or his boots... or his left glove... or his baby den-den-mushi. Honestly, he was jut glad to still have his coat, cravat, and hat. He couldn't imagine loosing his hat! The swell of the tide carried his limp body up onto a beach and, rather than leave himself at their mercy for longer than he had too, he dragged himself just out of their grasping fingers. He knew the poetic metaphor meant he was dangerously close to passing out completely and leaving himself vulnerable but he was just so drained he couldn't bring himself to care.

/*/

Most would say he was a reckless idiot, and they weren't exactly wrong, but Ace wasn't _stupid_. Learning fine control over his quite frankly terrifyingly powerful and adaptable logia powers was much preferable to stumbling around in a fight and accidentally turning intangible when he wanted to hit someone or blowing up his own ship. Let us not forget his unfortunate 'habit' of lighting his shirts on fire either. While he didn't necessarily _need_ a shirt, he _did_ need his pants and he really did like his boots. Setting either of those on fire accidentally would be... tragic.

Hence, training with his new powers away from anything he could potentially destroy.

A ways from his ship and out of sight from prying eyes, Ace let out an only slightly nervous breath. It had been _years_ since the fire at Grey Terminal but fire still wasn't Ace's favorite thing. A small campfire or the galley stove was fine but to unleash the _sun_... from his own _body_... It was a daunting thought and anything approaching the smell of thick smoke threatened debilitating flashbacks. Slowly exhaling, Ace lit his left hand on fire. The cheerfully crackling flames almost seemed mocking with their warmth and Ace swiftly killed them with a clench of his fist. "I can't let them see me like this," Ace muttered darkly, once again cursing the World Nobles for the destruction of Grey Terminal, the death of one brother, the near death of the other, and his pyrophobia. "This is ridiculous!" the pirate bellowed, punching out toward the surf and jumping as a large fist made of red-orange fire flew over the water. He stared at the afterimage, then his fist, then back to the horizon before a wide grin came over his face. "Then again..." He repeated the motion. "That _is_ rather cathartic," Ace allowed, his pyrophobia inexplicably lessening. He tried again with his fingers, lighting each one-by-one and extinguishing them as soon as the next lit. That mastered with all ten fingers(which took about twenty minutes) Ace moved on to his whole hand.

/*/

Crackling flames wasn't an unfamiliar sound to him, though they were usually in his nightmares. He was quite sure he was awake, if only just, so why could he hear fire whooshing by? A moment longer and he realized that there were no creaking timbers, no screaming outcasts, no stench of burned flesh and refuse. Just the sound of fire rushing by. He turned his head toward where he thought he heard it and furrowed his brow. Why on earth were there flames spouting out to sea? And why were they shaped like a fist? Curiosity, or perhaps dehydration and sheer exhaustion, overruled logical thought and he made his way toward the source of the flame spouts. When he reached the point of origin, all he saw was a shirtless male about the same age as him with black hair, freckles, a sharp nose, cargo shorts, and combat boots. That was when he noticed the curls of flame around the male's arms. "A devil fruit user then," he remarked out loud, drawing the man's attention.

/*/

Brown eyes met dark blue and a stare off for the ages was begun between the two. Water and fire stood across from each other, taking in the appearance of the other, before the fire quieted and tilted his head curiously at the water. "Why are you soaking wet?" Ace asked. The blond shrugged.

"That's what happens when you mysteriously loose your boat at sea, Fire Man," he said. Ace snorted and relaxed slightly, crossing his arms and regarding the other with amusement.

"It is at that. My name's Ace," he said, making a snap decision and holding out a hand to the strange blond.

"Sabo. Forgive me, but my hands are coated with seawater. And this glove," he waved the hand in question, "is soaked." Ace was frozen, staring at the man across from him; drinking in every detail.

First was the hat. For as long as he lived, Ace would never be able to forget Sabo's Hat(yes, the capital was necessary. If you ever heard Sabo and Luffy talking about their Hats you'd understand) and what he was seeing now was a _dead_ ringer for that same _Hat_.

Then came the caveat. The pirate had lost count how many times Luffy had called it a napkin and been correct vehemently by the ex-noble. Sure it could be, and likely was, a different scrap of cloth but the fact that he wore it spoke volumes. He even knotted it the same way.

His attention then drifted to the coat. When had he _not_ seen Sabo with a similar coat? Sure he hadn't worn it during the hotter months on Dawn Island, but it had been present. Still, Ace told himself, lots of people could wear dark blue coats. It wasn't like it was exclusive to Sabo, just a signature.

Gloves, or glove rather. That was new but then again, Ace's hat was new so who was he to judge? And if this Sabo fought with his fists(since Ace didn't see a pipe or staff anywhere) then the gloves could be to protect his knuckles.

Ace couldn't get anything from the pants and lack of boots, though the seawater dripping off of him and the assertion that he'd mysteriously lost his boat(who _does_ that?) spoke towards him not being a devil fruit user.

It was the eyes that threw him the most though. There was no recognition, no understanding, just confusion. Sabo didn't know him, didn't know that his name meant something to the pirate in front of him. Despite the ever present heat Ace had felt since he consumed the flare-flare fruit, ice settled in his stomach and a freezing hand closed his throat. What cruel joke was this?! To offer him hope then rip it away just as he began to _dare_ to accept it?

"Ace? Is... something wrong?" Sabo asked, tilting his head in an achingly familiar manner.

"Is this some kind of... of sick _joke?!_ " Ace growled, the ice giving way to a raging inferno. He didn't notice the curls of fire coming off his shaking fists or the fact his hair had turned to pure, rippling, _plasma_. Sabo sure did though and it freaked him out.

"If it is, jokes on me!" he said, raising his hands and eyes going wide. Ace glared and oh _fudge_ his eyes were _pits of_ _ **flame**_! "I swear! This wasn't my fault!"

"So... you really _didn't_ know the name 'Sabo' meant anything to me?" Ace said. While his hair didn't return to normal, and _fudge_ but it was terrifying talking to a guy with _plasma_ hair, Ace's dark brown eyes had.

"NO! I had _no_ idea it'd send you into eldritch flame monster levels of tee'd off!" Sabo defended. Ace quirked an eyebrow that was half on fire.

"Eldritch flame monster levels of tee'd off? Seriously?" he asked.

"Says the man with _plasma hair!_ " Sabo shouted back, giving him a rather mild glare in comparison to Ace's.

"Plasma hair?" Ace asked, reaching up.

"Yeah, it's terrifying! Especially when you add eyes of _literal flame_ to it!" Sabo answered with a nod while Ace fingered his hair and found that, yes, it _was_ plasma.

"I honestly had _no_ idea I could do that," Ace told him, returning his hair to normal.

"Well... you fixed it so... yay?" Sabo said, much calmer now that the plasma was gone.

"You said you lost your boat... I'm assuming you were expected to return to a larger ship?" Ace prompted, hoping to move past the whole misunderstanding and plasma hair.

"No... well yes... It's a little complicated. And I lost my baby den-den mushi. They're not going to be too happy about that," Sabo answered, a shadow of fear stealing over his face for a moment. Ace smirked.

"If you _swear_ not to mention how we met to my crew, I'll let you use our den-den mushi," he offered, already turning to walk back to his ship.

"That would be greatly appreciated, thank you," Sabo said, falling into step behind him.

"And I might have some old boots you can use," Ace offered.

"Ah... that would also be appreciated," Sabo answered, mildly sheepish. Ace just laughed.

(Even if it wasn't _his_ Sabo, it felt good to banter with him.)

/*/

When they reached the Spade, Ace lead Sabo straight to the den-den mushi before vanishing to find those boots he'd mentioned. A short conversation with the Revolution and Sabo had his orders. Stay put and wait for extraction, but if you see something interesting go ahead and investigate. "Oi, see if these will fit," Ace's voice called before Sabo found himself getting hit in the head with a pair of boots.

"Ow," he remarked dryly, glaring at the grinning pirate who had thrown them.

"Ah, don't be like that! So, any idea when your mates'll be picking you up?" Ace asked, hopping up on a bench.

"A week, maybe more," Sabo said, tugging the quite worn boots onto his feet. They were a little small, but not enough to bother him overly much. "Thanks for the boots," he said, tapping his toes on the floorboards. Looking back up, he noticed Ace watching him with an odd expression on his face. "You've got that, 'is he or isn't he' face on again, Ace. What is it?" Ace jerked, perhaps surprised at getting called out on his staring, then gave a wry smirk as he hopped off the bench.

"You remind me far too much of my brother," he said by way of explanation before vanishing back out on deck. Sabo frowned and followed.

"Captain left down the beach that way," the woman on watch told the bewildered blond. "Mind you, goin' after 'im might not be the wisest thing." Sabo flashed her a gentleman's smile.

"Well then, it's a good thing no-one ever accused me of being wise now isn't it?" he asked before vaulting off the ship and striding off toward the strand where he'd met Ace, the human blowtorch. When he reached him, Ace was playing with fire. "I'd make a quip about 'didn't you mother tech you better' but considering you're a logia I'll let you pass," Sabo remarked with a smirk as he sank down to the sand. Ace spared him a glance before returning to what Sabo now recognized as familiarity training. He watched for a bit, then grinned and rushed off to find two sturdy pipes and brought them back. "Ever fight with a pipe?" he asked, tossing one to Ace. The pirate stared at the length of metal, then at the blond who'd thrown it to him.

"Have I? It was my weapon of choice back on Dawn Island. My brothers and I used them to hunt," he said. Sabo froze for a moment.

"You're from Dawn Island?" he asked even as he unfroze and began spinning his pipe. Ace's eyes were latched onto the whirling metal as he nodded and anxiously wet his lips.

"Yeah... Grey Terminal was my playground," he said, giving a short jerk as Sabo slammed one end of his pipe into the sand.

"What was that?" Sabo asked, eying Ace with concern. He may have only known the young man for less than a day but he felt... precious, like someone Sabo wanted to protect. It was an odd feeling.

"Uh, Grey Terminal..." Ace began but his 'opponent' shook his head.

"No no, the twitch. Why did you twitch when I planted my pipe?" Sabo asked.

"That was... one of Sabo's signature moves. During a spar, he'd circle around, spinning his pipe, then plant it to grin at his opponent, daring them to make the first move," Ace said. The blond frowned. That was exactly what the maneuver meant, and it _was_ one that had carried over from Before. Perhaps... perhaps Ace was the key to his past? Perhaps... he'd given up hope of ever remembering too soon?

"It's something I've always done, Ace," Sabo told him. "Even though I couldn't tell you my birthday or the name of the family pet, I've known how to use a pipe and that has _always_ been my opening gambit... and sometimes my closer." Ace jerked and stared at him with wide eyes.

"You... you don't know... ?" he asked. Deciding to take the plunge, Sabo nodded.

"When I was about ten years old, I was in an explosion. It's how I got this scar over my eye," he explained. "I only remembered that I didn't want to go home. That was the only memory I had if you can call it that. Everything but the explosion is just... feelings. I only know my name because it was sewn into my Hat." Ace's eyes flicked to the accessory in question and he felt an irrational swell of gratitude toward the item.

"When I was young, I lived in the mountains of Dawn Island with a bunch of bandits, a run-away noble, and the grandson of Garp the Hero," Ace said, deciding to reciprocate the little Sabo had told him of his story. "Their names were Outlook Sabo and Monkey D. Luffy respectively." Sabo frowned and Ace took this as a sign to continue. "We were close, even though Sabo and I tried our hardest to drive Luffy away. Eventually, after several fights, some bloodshed, and a bit of treasure, we became as close as brothers. To cement it, we stole some Sake from Dadan's stash and exchanged cups," he recalled with a fond smile. That smile soured into a poisonous sneer a moment later. "But just like my father's blood condemned me and Luffy's gramps showed up to terrorize us, Sabo's family came for him, in time. They stole him away, tried to clip his wings. I'm not sure when it happened, by Sabo managed to run away from them again. Unable to wait until he was seventeen, the age we'd all agreed to set out at, Sabo took a small fishing boat and struck out to sea. Unfortunately, as he was pulling out, a World Noble was pulling in. The noble didn't appreciate Sabo's craft cutting him off so he... he blew him up." Sabo's eyes went wide as Ace's voice grew choked and tears began to pool in the man's eyes. "I was too busy looking after Lu to be there but I heard it from Dourga. Sabo... Sabo was gone. Forever."

"So that's why you flipped out when I said my name," Sabo whispered, shocked, to say the least. Ace nodded and Sabo looked at his pipe for a moment before a thought struck him. "If... if I were your brother, you'd have seen my Hat before, right?" he asked. Ace gave him a 'you serious asking that?' look and Sabo swept the top hat from his head and held it out. "Is this your brother's Hat?" Sabo asked, unsure of what he wanted the answer to be. With shaking hands, Ace took the hat and examined it carefully before he passed it back with shaking hands.

"Yes. Yes, it is," Ace said, voice thick with emotion and tears rolling down his cheeks as he stared at Sabo, at _his_ _ **brother**_. Sabo took the hat back... then set it aside to hug his emotional brother.

"Sorry for making you worry, Ace," Sabo whispered in his ear, hazy memories pulling themselves from the depths of his subconscious. Ace gave a watery chuckled and latched onto his blond brother.

" _Baka!_ You were _dead_!" he wailed. Sabo chuckled back.

"I thought Lu was the crybaby?" he teased and Ace cuffed him on the back of his head. This sparked a wrestling match on the beach and by the end, both young men were breathless and rubbed raw by the sand, which clung to their wet hair and skin and made them both rather uncomfortable.

But as they trudged back to Ace's ship they knew... _they wouldn't have it any other way_.

/?/

A/N: So? What do you think? Reviews are love~!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Or this idea. This one was a request by reviewer Narya Anima who said it would be a lot of fun. Coincidentally... I agreed, so now you get this. Enjoy.

 **Chapter 13:** Unlucky Nobles

The shot rang out in the auction house and Strawhat Luffy froze in his tracks. The world seemed to slow down as the octopus fishman fell to the stairs, blood trailing from the bullet wound. All eyes were fixed on the pirate and the fishman as the young man's rage built and the ex-pirate pleaded with him not to retaliate. Meanwhile, the World Noble who had shot Hachi hopped from one foot to the other, cheering about getting a free slave. The two hands holding Strawhat back fell limply to the stairs as the fishman passed out and the apocalyptic pirate stalked toward the oblivious Noble with murder in his eyes. The whole auction house watched with bated breath as one arm stopped swinging and became a trembling fist. The Noble took notice and tried to shoot the 'noosense,' but Strawhat barely had to move his head to avoid the poorly aimed shots. Strawhat stalked right up to the World Noble... and punched him in the face so hard that not only did his bubble helmet pop, but the world went grayscale and the gloating Noble was sent flying through several pews and the back wall. Strawhat rolled his shoulder with a dismissive sniff but the rage in his eyes had hardly diminished. "Aw man! I wanted to do that!" a stranger's voice called. As the dust settled, the stunned audience could see a tall young man staring down at the obviously knocked out World Noble with a slight pout. The blond canted his head to the side then grinned and kicked the Noble in the gut. "If the navy's already going to be raining retribution down on our heads, there's no reason I can't get a little petty revenge, right~?" he asked someone outside.

"Sabo..." a woman groaned. Strawhat twitched while the young man laughed.

"Ah, Koala, can you really blame me?" he asked before turning to Strawhat. "Great punch by the way. I bet it's as strong as a pistol, yeah?"

"Sabo?" Strawhat asked, eyes growing moist. The newcomer looked confused.

"Hum?" He was even more confused when Strawhat launched himself at him, bawling his eyes out.

"WAHHH! SAAABOOOOOO! WHY DIDN'T YOU LET US KNOW YOU WERE STILL ALIVE?! WE THOUGHT THE WORLD NOBLE HAD KILLED YOU!" the pirate wailed dramatically.

"I... what... how do you know about that?" Sabo asked, honestly struggling to understand what the heck was going on. One minute he's walking along, minding his own business in Grove 1, then a World Noble comes flying out of a random building(that he and Koala _were not_ casing in order to stage a jailbreak, why ever would you think _that_?), and now there's a member of the Eleven Supernovas claiming to know him and demanding to know why he hadn't let 'them' know he was alive. Seriously, this was in the top ten weird things that had happened to him in the past eight years.

(If you value your sanity, don't ask about the top five. Just... _don't_.)

"Dougra told us your boat got blown up by the World Noble who was coming to Goa, not long after me and Ace got conned into helping burn down Grey Terminal," Strawhat explained... more or less. There was a great deal more wailing and tears and snot and general mess but the point got across and for some reason, Sabo's brain was quite adept at translating Crying Luffy. Wait, since when did he call Strawhat by his first name?

"Well, that sounds familiar but..." Sabo trailed off, turning pleading eyes on Koala... who was laughing her pretty little head off and beating the unconscious World Noble with her fluffy hat. Sabo was _sure_ that was unintentional. Didn't mean he didn't find it funny but he was a gentleman and wouldn't mention it. Oh, and he was being confronted by a crying man he could somehow understand. Can't forget that.

"Sabo has amnesia, Strawhat," Koala finally managed to wheeze(and were those new bruises on the Noble's face? Who knew Koala's hat could do _that_?). Luffy blinked and looked at the ginger.

"Ah? What's amnia?" he asked.

"Amnesia," drawled a thin, dark haired man sitting a row below the two. Sabo narrowed his eyes at him, wondering what the Surgeon of Death thought he'd get out of answering Luffy's question(and no, he was _not_ feeling protective, stop throwing around accusations like that!). "A partial or total loss of memory," the 'good' doctor continued in his usual uncaring and monotone drawl. A deadly smirk crawled across his coldly handsome features as dark eyes moved to consider the blond. "It's quite possible he has no clue who you are or what you're talking about, Strawhat-ya." Sabo scowled at him.

"While that is correct, I don't appreciate you stating it _quite_ that bluntly, _Trafalgar-ya_ ," he snipped, a muscle in his jaw twitching. Odd, Sabo was usually the laid-back one with witty quips for pretty much any occasion.

"AH! SABO DOESN'T REMEMBER!?" Luffy yelled, looking at Sabo as though this was the worst thing he'd ever heard. Part of Sabo envied that innocence while another was growling at him to _protect_. The dark Supernova(which was an amusing oxymoron for Sabo) smirked at the pair.

"No, he does not," Trafalgar remarked dryly. "Perhaps you should try jogging his memory with something familiar?" Luffy beamed at the other pirate... and then they were rudely interrupted by the marines coming to 'avenge' the World Noble Luffy had knocked out and Koala had later savaged with her Hat(after seeing the welts that thing had left of the pompous buffoon, Sabo felt the capital was deserved).

The resulting fight brought Sabo's memories back... but he and Koala got sent back to Baltigo by Kuma when he scattered the Strawhat crew.

When news of Ace's impending execution reached him, the blond Revolutionary commandeered a ship and a crew and set sail for Marineford. He arrived to the sight of a war and did his best to aid his brothers.

That was a day of mixed rewards and bittersweet tears.

It also ranked third on Sabo's unofficial list of 'Most Epically Confusing Days of My Life.'

(He did his best to forget the other two.)

/?/

A/N: Alright, the ending wasn't the best, but the important part is there and I am planning on either finishing this fic with all the different ways Marineford could go or just posting those as another story. Let me know which one you'd prefer!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. It wouldn't be nearly as good if I did.

A/N: Did you enjoy the ride? You did? Wonderful, now hold on. I'm told the end is the toughest part.

 **Chapter 14:** A Different Decision OR Capitalizing on an Opportunity

The capture and planned execution of Fire Fist Ace were publicized and used as propaganda for the Navy, mitigating Blackbeard's involvement and emphasizing the looming death of a remarkably infamous pirate. The Navy was either idiotic or willfully blind to a number of facts, otherwise, they wouldn't have done something so stupid.

Fact one: Ace was a Whitebeard Pirate.

Fact two: Whitebeard defended his people jealously.

Fact three: even as an old man in poor health, Edward Newgate was regarded as the strongest man in the world. This included both halves of the Grand Line which were widely acknowledged as the most insane places in the world where it wasn't unusual for islands to be reshaped or flat out destroyed by battle.

Fact four: Ace was Strawhat Luffy's brother.

Fact five: Luffy was a crazy thrill seeker who had a track record(even if it was somewhat under wraps) of waging all out war on those who, by all rights, should be out of his league and not only surviving but _winning_. Not to mention he beat the tar out of his opponents and crushed their spirits too boot.

Fact six: imprisoning Ace would have Whitebeard and his allies along with Strawhat gunning for Impel Down to break him out. Executing him would have Whitebeard, his allies, and Strawhat Luffy laying siege to Marineford to save the hothead.

Fact seven: whether or not the Navy could beat back, arrest, and or kill all or most of the attacking pirates along with Ace was irrelevant as the war would require all hands on deck and leave the rest of Marineford exposed to a sneak attack by the Revolutionaries.

Fact eight: Dragon was as not as stupid as the rest of his family and he was as crazy and stubborn as both his father and his son.

These eight facts lead up to one outcome that should have been the most likely but for some reason _wasn't_.

Dragon ordering a raid on Marineford during the execution of Portugas D. Fire Fist Ace.

And who would be leading that raid? Who else than the Chief of Staff?

/*/

Sabo smirked as he lead his team through the deserted halls of Marineford. "Anyone else get the feeling the Chief's a kid in a candy store?" the man behind him asked. Sabo chuckled lightly even as he unlimbered his pipe and bashed the head of an unlucky marine into the wall.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" a wry feminine voice asked over a symphony of cracking bones and a quiet moan of pain.

"He's _skipping_ , Koala," the man replied, breaking an unfortunate young man's nose while knocking him out.

"I'm not skipping, Danton," Sabo said as he danced around the last of the patrol and sending her to sleep with a rap to the head.

"Really? Because it looks like you're skipping," Danton drawled, rushing ahead to guard the corner while Sabo and Koala went around.

"You really enjoy making fun of your leaders, don't you," Sabo remarked drily.

"What can I say? I'm a rebel, I rebel," Danton shot back with good humor. Sabo snorted.

"You're a Revolutionary, Danton, not a rebel. We seek to build a better government, not send the world into anarchy," he said.

" _Boys_!" hissed Koala, drawing them back to the task at hand.

"Yes ma'am," they said together, heads bowed. Swiftly and efficiently, they scoured each office they came across, explosions and screams echoing outside. "Yeesh! They're really going to town out there," Danton remarked as the whole building shook.

"Whitebeard has gone to war," Sabo remarked dully, his eyes growing distant as a shaky grin spread across his face. "If today is the day he dies... he's going to take down as many with him as he can and do his darn _best_ to shake the world to its _core_." Danton stared at his Chief for a moment before shaking his head.

"Always knew you were an odd one," he muttered. For a few more precious, dangerously thrilling minutes the three man cell worked quietly and methodically. Then a wave of _presence_ swept over them and all three heads turned to the window as the faint echo of a raw, _primal_ scream made its way into their very _souls_.

" _DON'T DO IT!"_

Sabo jolted toward the window and saw Ace's shocked face as he stared out over the hoard of marines and pirates. As the bodies fell from the force of that one shout, Sabo saw a head of black hair, tanned limbs, a yellow vest, red shorts, and... "Strawhat," Sabo muttered, watching the small figure run through the failing chaos he'd caused toward Ace's execution platform.

" _I'm on my way!"_

Danton and Koala watched as Sabo stared out the window, watching that small figure run through the battlefield strewn with fire and ice, the pirate's limbs stretching to impossible lengths to punch out those in his way. "Luffy..." the blond breathed and then...

"OI! IDIOT! YOU CAN'T FLY!" Koala yelled after him as Sabo leapt out the window.

"DON'T NEED TO! THERE'S BIGGER FOOLS TO BREAK MY FALL!" the falling blond bellowed back. Danton laughed while Koala smacked her forehead into her palm.

"He's got you there!" he laughed... until Koala smashed him into the stone wall of the office building. "Worth it."

/*/

Ace watched Luffy come in shock. Conqueror's Haki. Luffy had _Conqueror's Haki!_ And hadn't he told the idiot not to come for him? "TOLD YOU THERE WERE BIGGER FOOLS!" a voice yelled in the stillness as a dark blue form landed on one of the larger marines present. Everyone still conscious stopped and stared at the newcomer. The first thing Ace noticed about him was blue. Then the top hat he wore perched atop soft blond curls. Light blue pants, solid brown boots, leather gloves, a spinning pipe, a wide grin that challenged the world. "Hello," the man said, bringing the pipe to rest on his shoulder as he grinned at the arrayed Marines and Pirates. "I couldn't help but notice the bond between Ace and Luffy. It was so oddly nostalgic, I couldn't stop myself from joining the fray," he continued. Luffy broke out of his shock and launched himself at the newcomer.

"S... Sabo?" he asked, his soft, scared voice echoing over the battlefield like a gunshot is a church.

"Ah, that'd be my name," the man said, smiling softly at Luffy. Tears started to run down the infamous pirate's face, snot bubbled out of his nose, and before anyone could quite register what was happening... Strawhat Luffy threw back his head and _wailed_ as he held fast to Sabo. Ace wasn't much better, to be honest, only instead of instantly accepting that his brother was back from the dead, he felt rage bubbling up in him, fighting against the mind-numbing property of the seastone that bound him.

"OI! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, USING THAT NAME!" he bellowed, fighting against his cuffs for the first time, a new fire ignited in his eyes. Sabo turned dark blue eyes on the man... and smiled that same soft smile.

"I'm Sabo, from Dawn Island," he said. Ace growled and thrashed with renewed vigor.

"STOP IT! STOP LYING! SABO IS DEAD! I SAW HIS BOAT! I HEARD THE BLAST! THE WORLD NOBLE KILLED HIM! ALL BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING TO _LEAVE US!_ HE WAS TRYING TO _ESCAPE!_ HECK, I CAN'T EVEN BE MAD AT HIM! NOT WITH PARENTS LIKE HIS!" he howled. Sabo's smile faltered and his eyes widened before he glared up at Ace.

"Stop trying to convince me I'm dead, Ace. It may have taken me a while to remember, but I'm here. Stop trying to send me away," he said evenly. Ace jerked back with a 'gurk,' face a picture of shock.

And then the war started up again.

"We have to make it to the platform!" Sabo told Luffy, prying the rubber man from his side.

"WAH! SABOO!" said rubber man wailed. Sabo felt a sweatdrop form on his left temple.

"Ah, Luffy, if you don't let go I really will be dead, and so will you and Ace," Sabo said. Luffy snapped off and somehow managed to nail a beefy marine who was attempting to flank them. "Nice shot," Sabo remarked idly as he swatted another and charged forward.

"I can't believe you're _alive_ ," Luffy breathed. Sabo grinned at him.

"Save it for when we're out of here, yeah?" Luffy nodded and the world was swallowed by chaos.

/*/

Grap was proud despite himself. His grandsons were strong and devoted to each other. Too bad they chose to be pirates. Though... Garp could sort of see where they were coming from, despising the navy. Marines had to answer to the World Government which had to listen to the World Nobles and these boys had never had any good experiences with even the nobles in Goa, much less the World Nobles. And killing one of their brothers for a petty reason was not the way to endear yourself to anyone. And then there was that whole business with Shells Town. Not to mention Kokoyashi. Or Baratie. Then there was the fact that they'd been raised by bandits. Probably not his best decision. But it wasn't like he could raise the sons of Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Dragon on the deck of a battleship, or even in his office here at Marineford. The property damage and food bill would bad enough but when you factor in the risk of someone discovering their heritage... Yeah. The bandits were a better choice than that. Which was another factor that lead to Garp acknowledging that his boys had _reasons_ but... "LET ME GO YOU FLEA BITTEN GOVERNMENT DOG! I'LL BITE YOUR KNEECAPS OFF AND USE THEM AS SOUP BOWLS!" Garp winced. Maybe he _could_ have left them in Foosha, even with Shanks haunting the area. Makino would at least have insisted on _manners_.

"OUTTA MY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!" Luffy yelled, an elastic arm clearing the way for Sabo to rush in and disable the bigger opponents.

"ALMOST THERE!" Sabo yelled.

"Not so fast, Brats!" Garp declared, placing himself in their way.

"BEAR LORD!" Sabo yelled, going low. Luffy roared in acknowledgment and sent both fists toward Garp's face. The pair had gotten faster since the last time Garp had fought them and even without their third member going for the gut, they managed to push him from their path and down into the melee below. "GOOD WORK, LUFFY!" Garp dimly heard Sabo yell.

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed before their words were swallowed by the din of battle. Garp sighed and closed his eyes, conceding the round to his Brats.

"You've grown well," he muttered softly enough to go unheard before he turned and did his duty to the Corp.

/*/

Sabo, who didn't have the time to sort through the memories he had suddenly recovered, was a little amazed at how well he and Luffy worked together. It took a ridiculously short amount of time for them to reach Ace and knock out the few Marines on the platform. A moment later and fire surged to life above the war. "Thanks," Ace said, rubbing his wrists, before he clocked Sabo in the jaw. "That was for leaving," he said. The blond rolled his jaw before shaking his head.

"Guess I kinda deserved that one," he said. Ace chuckled and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"That... was for coming back," Fire Fist said with an unusually sappy smile.

"Thanks, but like I told Luffy, let's save it for where we're out of here, yeah?" Sabo said, nodding to the veritable sea of blue and white between them and the ships that would carry them to freedom and the open sea. Ace nodded and they began fighting their way to the shore. A large man with bad teeth and a scraggly black beard stepped into their path while a bullet ricocheted off of Luffy.

"Black Beard!" Ace snarled.

"NO TIME!" Sabo yelled, ramming his shoulder into Ace's side and forcing him into the scrum of Marines and Pirates. Luffy followed easily but Ace fought Sabo's direction.

"HE KILLED THATCH!" the flame man bellowed.

"HE'LL KILL US TOO IF YOU DON'T _MOVE_!" Sabo countered. This seemed to cool Ace's head slightly but the White Beard Commander still growled. "We're never going to make it to the ships like this," Sabo muttered before his head snapped to a window where a familiar orange hat flashed and a grin spread across his face. "LUFFY! ROCKET THATA WAY!" he shouted, wrapping an arm around Ace and pointing toward Koala's hat.

"OKAY!" Luffy shouted back, wrapping an arm around both of his brothers before his other hand shot out to grasp the window frame. A breath of perfect stillness and an eternal moment of heart stopping flight later the ASL brothers were sprawled out in the hall with a pair of stunned Revolutionaries.

"Well. I was always told he had a proclivity toward the dramatic," Danton remarked dryly.

"NOT THE POINT!" Koala snapped back at him. "Are you okay, Sabo?"

"Peachy," Sabo wheezed, giving her a thumbs up from the bottom of a brother pile.

"Who's this?" Ace asked from the middle of the heap, staring up at the admittedly cute girl.

"This is my partner, Koala, and our Recruit of the Week, Danton," Sabo said, waving to the two.

"A pleasure to meet you, Koala," Ace said, expertly extracting himself and bowing politely.

"Eh? Since when did you have manners?" Sabo asked.

"Since I asked Makino to teach me so I could thank Shanks for what he did for Luffy," Ace answered easily.

"Huh. Okay," Sabo said, shrugging it off before turning to Koala. "When's that extraction coming again?" Koala slapped her face into her palm.

"You just moved up our timetable, didn't you."

"Well, a ballistic rubber man dragging along a screaming flame man and Revolutionary is kind of hard to miss so... yes. Yes I did," Sabo admitted unashamedly, nodding.

"Sometimes I question Dragon's decision to make you Chief of Staff," Koala muttered, shaking her head at her partner.

"And then I come up with a genius plan to save money, manpower, _and_ accomplish our mission all at the same time and you love me again," Sabo countered. Koala rolled her eyes and started running down the hall.

"Yeah yeah, now let's move!" she called back. "We have no idea how long we have until this building is swarming with Marines and I'd rather not be here when that happens!" Sabo laughed and scrambled after her, Luffy and Ace a beat behind.

"No argument here!" Sabo said over the pounding of their feet on the stone. Time lost all meaning as they charged through corridor after hall in a mad dash for the extraction point. "Wait! Whitebeard won't stop until he knows Ace is free!" Sabo realized.

"Ace ate the Flare Flare Fruit, right?" Danton asked.

"Yes, I did. Why?" Ace answered.

"Well... Signal Flare anyone?" Three slaps echoed in the hallway as Ace, Sabo, and Koala face palmed.

"Thanks, Danton. We'll do that," Sabo said. Danton grinned and slid around the corner, knocking a Marine off his feet before driving his head into the floor with a vicious elbow strike. Not long after, they emerged from the massive base and leaped onto the waiting Revolutionary ship. As soon as they could see the war, Ace sent up a large flare shaped like Whitebeard's mark. Sabo watched with Ace as the Pirates disengaged from the Marines and began to pull back. "You know... Nico Robin wanted to join this raid," Sabo remarked quietly as he watched Marineford burn.

"Ah! Robin?!" Luffy yelled, forcing himself back up to stare at Sabo in shock.

"Yes. She arrived at our base three days before we began putting together this raid," the Revolutionary answered. "Said something about her captain being sure to put himself in harm's way and it was her duty as part of his crew to make sure he didn't die."

"Is she here?" Luffy asked. Sabo shook his head.

"No-one trusted her enough to let her come," he said and Luffy slumped. "She'll be staying with us for a time... but I can pass a message if you'd like."

"Two years," Luffy muttered. Sabo blinked.

"Eh?" Luffy lifted his head with an expression of world ending determination.

"We'll meet again at Sabondy in two years," he declared. Sabo nodded and Ace sighed.

"I wish I could be there with you... but something tells me not even two years will be long enough to convince my crew to let me out of their sight," he said. Luffy laughed.

"Then we'll just have to meet in the New World!" he declared. Ace stared at his brother for a moment before a slow grin spread across his face.

"It's a promise then," he said, holding up his fist. Luffy crossed forearms with him and laughed, eyes squeezed shut before he passed out from exhaustion.

"He's gonna be out for a while," Sabo remarked dryly.

"Something tells me it'll do him good," Ace said before turning to Sabo. "You and I, however, have a _lot_ to talk about." Sabo sighed and picked up his sleeping brother.

"First let me get him to the infirmary, then we'll talk," he said. Ace nodded and followed his brothers, not willing to let either out of his sight just yet.

The future was uncertain and the seas more hostile than ever but in that moment, on that little ship with both his brothers by his side, Ace couldn't help but think... Life was good and he was so glad to be alive.

/?/

A/N: Okay, you can let go now. We've arrived. Please lift your safety harness and watch your step as you disembark. Don't forget to leave a review on your way out.

So yeah, unless I get a prompt that's too good to pass up, this is the end. Hope you enjoyed!

Oh, before you close the tab, I've decided to start a series based off these one shots. Uploads will be sporadic and I'm not sure when the first will be posted but check back every now and then for my planned 'Consequences' series. The first has the working title of 'Consequences: What a Glance can Bring.'

regenengel3 out, have a blessed day.


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